Oral Thrush Mouth Thrush

Adults

Other symptoms in adults are:

cracks at the corners of the mouth
not tasting things properly
an unpleasant taste in the mouth
pain inside the mouth (for example, a sore tongue or sore gums)
difficulty eating and drinking

Oral thrush in adults is not contagious.

Babies

Babies with oral thrush may not want to feed.

If you're not sure it's oral thrush

Look at other causes of a white or sore tongue.

A pharmacist can help with oral thrush

Oral thrush can be treated with a mouth gel bought from a pharmacy. The gel is suitable for adults, children and babies over the age of 4 months.

Ask your pharmacist for advice. Always follow the instructions on the medicine packet.

Find a pharmacy

When and where to get medical help

Oral thrush is not usually serious but sometimes you may need to get help from a GP.

See a GP if:

your baby is under 4 months and has signs of oral thrush
you have oral thrush and do not see any improvement after 1 week of treatment with a mouth gel
you have difficulty or pain when swallowing

How you can prevent oral thrush

Oral thrush is an infection caused by a fungus called Candida. Some things can make the fungus grow more than usual.

You might get thrush if you're:

taking antibiotics over a long time
using asthma inhalers
having cancer treatment like chemotherapy

There are some things you can do to help prevent oral thrush.

Do

take care of your teeth: brush twice a day, clean your dentures, and go for regular check-ups even if you have dentures
brush your gums and tongue with a soft toothbrush if you do not have any teeth
rinse your mouth after eating or taking medicine
go to regular check-ups if you have a long-term condition like diabetes
sterilise dummies regularly
sterilise bottles after each use

Don't

do not wear dentures at night
do not keep wearing dentures if they do not fit properly - see your dentist
do not smoke

Sexual Health Advice

Throughout this series we have help and advice on staying healthy, dealing with Sexually Transmitted Infections, the risks of each type of the most popular gay sex and what to do if the sex you have is not consentual. The topics covered in this series include:

	This item was in brought to you association with NHS website. Follow the links above for more information and don't forget to check out OutUK's A to Z of Gay Health which features items on everything from relationships, sexual health, mental and physical conditions and how to stay fit. This week our topic is: L - Lung Cancer.
Photos: OutUK and LightFieldStudios.